title: Rotavirus and norovirus infections in children in Sana'a, Yemen.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the epidemiology of rotavirus and norovirus infection among children with acute gastroenteritis in Sana'a, Yemen.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study from November 2007 to March 2009 of children aged 1 month to 5 years attending the emergency and outpatient departments of two hospitals in Sana'a with acute gastroenteritis. Rotavirus was detected by ELISA and genotyped by RT-PCR. Norovirus was detected by End Point RT-PCR and nucleotide sequencing.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 290 children (48% in the emergency department and 52% in the outpatient department of the children respectively) were enrolled. Rotavirus infections were detected in 78 (27%) and norovirus infections in 30 (10%). Rotavirus genotypes included G1P[8] (55%), G9P[8] (21%) and G2P[4] (12%) with G12 comprising 3% of strain types. The main norovirus genotype was GII.4 (27%) with >10 other genotypes detected.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Rotavirus and norovirus infections are common causes of gastroenteritis in Yemen. Rotavirus vaccines could play a significant role in the control of acute childhood diarrhoea in this setting.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Infection, Institute of Infection and Global Health, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK. amk@liv.ac.uk
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kirby
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al-Eryani
authors.forename: Najla
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Al-Sonboli
authors.forename: Taghreed
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hafiz
authors.forename: Mandy
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Beyer
authors.forename: Nasher
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Al-Aghbari
authors.forename: Nahala
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Al-Moheri
authors.forename: Winifred
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Dove
authors.forename: Nigel A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Cunliffe
authors.forename: Luis E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Cuevas
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D017250:Caliciviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D005759:Gastroenteritis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D029322:Norovirus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital; D010802:Phylogeny; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D012400:Rotavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015006:Yemen / Q000453:epidemiology